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Foodie Blog Roll

This past weekend was a big weekend here in Alaska. It was the start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which is an annual 1,049-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. This year there are 66 mushers competing against each other to be the first to reach Nome. Mushers and their dog teams usually cover the distance to Nome in 9-15 days; although last year’s first place winner reached Nome in just under 9 days.

If any of my readers or fellow bloggers are interested in following the race, you can visit the Iditarod website here. The website provides current race standings, as well as photo galleries and other interesting tidbits. I also have links to Anchorage and Nome webcams on my Alaska Facts & Links page located here.

I didn’t get a chance to go to downtown Anchorage or Willow to watch the start of the Iditarod, but I was able to catch some of it on T.V. Since the temperatures were only in the teens this past weekend, I think it was probably the better choice to watch the festivities from the comfort of my warm home. It also gave me the chance to whip up this delicious Coconut Banana Cream Pie for our weekend dessert.

If you’re a fan of coconut, then you’ll absolutely love this pie. It’s extremely easy to make, and the crust consists of only two ingredients – coconut & butter. The banana cream filling is very smooth and light, and pairs very well with the crunchy toasted coconut crust. It’s almost like having two pies in one – Banana Cream and Coconut Cream.

Here’s a quick and easy cupcake recipe that will get you out of the kitchen fast – leaving you more time to get out and enjoy the nice, warm summer weather.

There’s a box of pudding in the mix, so you know these cupcakes are moist and delicious. Another wonderful feature of this recipe, is that it uses a package of cake mix…which means I am finally beginning to whittle down the large quantity of cake mixes that I purchased during our local grocery store’s “buy two get three free” sale. Yea! :)

On a side note: Did you know that you can make powdered sugar if you run out and need some fast? I’m almost ashamed to say that I never knew this.

To my dismay, I ran out of powdered sugar while making the chocolate frosting to top off these cupcakes. I immediately turned to the internet to see if I could find a quick solution. Low and behold, I discovered that you can take some white granulated sugar and some cornstarch, toss them in your blender, and blend until it turns into powdered sugar. There’s a more detailed description of how to do it on wikiHow if you’re interested.

In a large bowl, combine butter and cocoa. Beat together until well combined.
Add milk, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until it becomes smooth.
Gradually add in powdered sugar. Continue beating the mixture, until the frosting is smooth, creamy and spreadable.